Go to page : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Home
 |
Miami
Herald, Religion, June 29,1996 Back home, he walks about 12 hours a day, reaching the downtrodden and the uneducated children in rural areas near Calcutta, India. His mission : to serve the people nobody else seems to be able to reach. He is a male counterpart of Mother Teresa — with a twist. He’s the Rev. Swami Shuddhananda Brahmachari, a world renowned Hindu spiritual teacher and founder of the Lokenath Divine Life Mission in India and the United States. "My connotation of charity is different [from Mother Teresa’s]," said Brahmachari. Poverty can’t be solved by feeding and clothing the poor, he said. Instead, he believes it can be solved through education — but not just through literacy programms. The swami is lecturing in South Florida as part of his seventh visit to the United States. The three-month tour, to raise funds for schools in India, is sponsored by donations from friends and the Hindu Temple of South Florida. Brahmachari said he has always sought to serve God through service to living gods, also known as the children of God. "We should make everyone environmentally, socially and culturally more educated," he said, "so they can be true human beings who can live in this world with a sense of dignity and love for all." Dr. Chad Shaykher, a member of Hindu Temple of South Florida and a North Miami Beach physician, said Hindus believe in one God (also called the Cosmic Principle). Everything in the universe is a manifestation of God, Shaykher explained. Hindus also believe the body only houses the soul and that when the body dies, the soul lives on. Ravi Shukla of Broward, and president of the South Florida Hindu Temple, said the Hindu faith teaches against conversion from one faith to another. "As long as people are reaching out for [God], it makes no difference what specific faith they follow," he said.Recently, temple members broke ground at the corner of Southwest 130th Avenue and Griffin Road in Broward for a new Hindu temple. It will serve more than 3,000 Hindu families in south Florida, Including 500 who live in Miami. Brahmachari was born 49 years ago in India. He was 16, when he met a "great Swami of India" and felt a deep spiritual connection. When he was 26 and a teacher at Hyderabad University at Andharapradesh in South India, the Swami said he renounced his "worldly life" and joined a monastery. "I knew I couldn’t continue teaching at the university and at the same time continue my deep longing for the truth," he said. Brahmachari said he has never looked back. "I always look ahead and I am absolutely fulfilled. I am married to the divine." His message here is a simple one of love and humility. "I never practice anything very difficult. I always thought God is simple and I should reach Him in a path that is simple, humble and innocent surrender." He believes there is hope for the world. But first, people need to "get right." "If human beings can start deeply thinking and meditating upon that which ascends from God and live the life which is real," he said, "then you really can get back what you lost."
Page No.3 |